I concede to Zots critique that I have not had a lot of time on the 8&#39;11", but I have ridden all the boards in this line (save the Floater, of which I only studied an acquaintances board), and the whole line are all very similar in feel and construction. If there were ever a production series that felt like they were a "family", the Mistral / Naish series was it.

Also, having sailed them, AND being an admirer of Robby, I think that these boards reward the sailor who sails like Robby - powered all the way through the jibe, hard aggressive carves, sail rigged to be &#39;back-handy&#39; (which helps get vertical in the jumps). Go for it in this fashion, FULLY powered up, and you&#39;ll be richly rewarded on any of the boards in this line. Sail timid, and on this stuff you&#39;re gonna get thrashed and break it a lot. If you&#39;re gonna sail wimpy, you&#39;ll do a LOT better in that case with a Carve. Kombats too, I really like my Kombat.